Washington Execution Stayed

Two separate courts (a County Superior court and a Federal District court) have issued stays of execution for Darold Stenson, who was scheduled to be put to death by the state of Washington on December 3. According to media reports, these stays will be appealed by state and county officials who are still hopeful that the execution can take place.

The Federal court’s decision was based on a lethal injection challenge, while the County court has ordered new DNA testing which might shed light on Stenson’s claims that he is innocent. The question of the utter arbitrariness of the death penalty in Washington, which I wrote about on Monday, remains unaddressed.

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A lethal injection challenge is also the reason that North Carolina hasn't had an execution in over two years, even though there are 163 inmates on Death Row in the Raleigh prison. In the last decade or so, there have been approx. three dozen botched executions using lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court has said people regaining consciousness during the killing process — when they can feel the extremely painful heart-stopping drug used — is inhumane. No physician will attend the state killing since the N.C. Medical Board , which licenses physicians, promised to punish any doctor "present" at a state execution. An excellent article on the controversy is at the Ethic Soup blog. To read the article on "execution doctors," go to:http://www.ethicsoup.com/2008/11/execution-doctor…

A lethal injection challenge is also the reason that North Carolina hasn't had an execution in over two years, even though there are 163 inmates on Death Row in the Raleigh prison. In the last decade or so, there have been approx. three dozen botched executions using lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court has said people regaining consciousness during the killing process — when they can feel the extremely painful heart-stopping drug used — is inhumane. No physician will attend the state killing since the N.C. Medical Board , which licenses physicians, promised to punish any doctor "present" at a state execution. An excellent article on the controversy is at the Ethic Soup blog. To read the article on "execution doctors," go to:http://www.ethicsoup.com/2008/11/execution-doctor…

A lethal injection challenge is also the reason that North Carolina hasn't had an execution in over two years, even though there are 163 inmates on Death Row in the Raleigh prison. In the last decade or so, there have been approx. three dozen botched executions using lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court has said people regaining consciousness during the killing process — when they can feel the extremely painful heart-stopping drug used — is inhumane. No physician will attend the state killing since the N.C. Medical Board , which licenses physicians, promised to punish any doctor "present" at a state execution. An excellent article on the controversy is at the Ethic Soup blog. To read the article on "execution doctors," go to:http://www.ethicsoup.com/2008/11/execution-doctor…

A lethal injection challenge is also the reason that North Carolina hasn’t had an execution in over two years, even though there are 163 inmates on Death Row in the Raleigh prison. In the last decade or so, there have been approx. three dozen botched executions using lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court has said people regaining consciousness during the killing process — when they can feel the extremely painful heart-stopping drug used — is inhumane. No physician will attend the state killing since the N.C. Medical Board , which licenses physicians, promised to punish any doctor “present” at a state execution. An excellent article on the controversy is at the Ethic Soup blog. To read the article on “execution doctors,” go to: